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The name is the anglicized version of the Comanche compound woarɨhka 'worm eater' from woa 'worm' + tɨhka 'eat' and presumably refers to a group of Comanche living in the area or to some early European settlers whose plowing may have humorously resembled digging for worms.[6] Such humorous names were common in Comanche culture, such as the word for 'rice', woarɨhkapɨh, literally 'worm food'.

Waurika was settled after the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache Reservation was opened to non-Indians on August 6, 1901. The first white settler was James McGraw, who homesteaded on the present town site after moving from Burlington, Iowa.[7] The first sale of town lots was held on June 18, 1902. Nearly three thousand people attended the sale.[citation needed]

Waurika was incorporated in May 1903. On May 8 of that year, C. A. McBrian was sworn in as the town's first mayor.[7]

There were 741 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the city, the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 107.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,800, and the median income for a family was $31,594. Males had a median income of $24,844 versus $16,286 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,496. About 6.4% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 17.4% of those age 65 or over.

The 1996 murder of Heather Rich brought brief notoriety to Waurika. Rich, a 16-year-old sophomore at the local high school, was murdered by two classmates and an acquaintance in a case that attracted national media coverage.[citation needed]